Experts Urge Swift Action to Mitigate UAE Oil Spill's Environmental Threat

Authorities have confirmed an oil spill off the coast of Umm Al Quwain, prompting experts to emphasize the critical need for rapid containment to minimize damage to the UAE's marine ecosystems. The Ministry of Climate Change and Environment verified the spill on Friday, following reports from residents in Dubai and the Northern Emirates who detected a strong, fuel-like odor earlier in the week.

Rob Mortimer, CEO of Dubai-based Fuelre4m, a supplier of oil slick dispersing agents, stated that the immediate priority should be to use floating barriers, known as booms, to "keep it all together." This strategy aims to maximize the recovery of oil from the sea surface. "It’s reasonably easy to do it while it’s all together," Mortimer explained. "Once it’s spreading and moving around, it’s more difficult. Even with the dispersant, you have to cover a greater distance … The longer you leave it, the more the oil gets dispersed."

Mortimer also highlighted the use of dispersants as an early measure. These substances break oil into minute droplets, facilitating their breakdown by naturally occurring microorganisms into simpler, harmless compounds like carbon dioxide and water. However, he cautioned that the application of dispersants requires careful evaluation due to their potential toxicity to marine life, including corals, fish, crustaceans, and plankton. "You have got to look at how toxic these dispersants are themselves," he noted. "Some of the chemicals that are used, they’re not very nice. You have to weigh up whether the treatment is better. Sometimes it’s quite marginal."

A primary objective in managing oil slicks is preventing pollution from reaching the coastline, as this significantly complicates clean-up efforts and can cause lasting harm to habitats. "Once it hits the shoreline, you have to do a lot of clean-up and remediation," Mortimer added.

Professor Richard Thompson, director of the Marine Institute at the University of Plymouth, commented on the clean-up process. He suggested that cleaning a wide, sandy beach is generally less complex than dealing with a rocky shoreline. "If you have intertidal habitats with a large range of organisms, it’s going to make it more difficult to clean than if you can capture it [the oil] at the sea surface," he said. "If it’s among rocks or mangroves or seagrass, it’s going to be very difficult to clean … Ideally what you’re trying to do is catch it before you get the encounters between the creatures and the oil."

The US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has pointed out the trade-offs associated with dispersant use, balancing the benefits of surface oil removal and reduced shoreline contamination against potential impacts on plankton and other water column organisms. "Part of the work of planning the response to potential oil spills is the difficult task of evaluating these trade-offs, which requires careful consideration of the resources and issues involved," the agency stated in an online briefing document.

Mortimer mentioned that Fuelre4m supplies vegetable-based dispersants and is seeking approval from UAE authorities for their use. The risks associated with some oil-spill treatment chemicals were underscored by the 1967 Torrey Canyon tanker incident off the coast of south-west England, where some dispersants were reported to be more toxic to marine life than the oil itself.

Umm Al Quwain Municipality teams are actively engaged in clean-up operations. The municipality confirmed on Friday its efforts to contain the pollution and mitigate harm to marine and coastal environments. The origin of the oil spill has not yet been officially identified. This incident follows a series of events that have raised concerns about the environmental consequences of the current geopolitical tensions.

In response to the spill, beaches and coastal areas in Umm Al Quwain have been closed, along with Sharjah’s Al Hamriya Beach. Inesaf Benzaki, campaigns lead at Greenpeace Mena, emphasized the importance of timely containment, particularly given the Gulf's semi-enclosed nature, which can lead to pollutant persistence. "We acknowledge the UAE authorities’ ongoing efforts to contain the reported oil spill off Umm Al Quwain and address its immediate effects," she stated. "As these efforts continue, understanding the potential environmental impact will be important to protecting the area’s marine ecosystems."

Benzaki further noted that the coastline is part of a vital marine environment featuring shallow waters, mangroves, seagrass meadows, and lagoons that support marine life and coastal livelihoods. She warned that residual oil could persist in coastal sediments and sensitive habitats long after visible removal, prolonging the spill's impact. If oil reaches the UAE coastline, it could "threaten sensitive marine and coastal ecosystems," she cautioned.

An image captured by the European Space Agency (ESA) using SAR Radar on October 21 shows oil emanating from a tanker approximately 25km off the coast of Umm Al Quwain.

Continued environmental monitoring and assessment are crucial for determining the extent of damage, identifying areas needing further attention, and guiding recovery efforts, according to Benzaki. Protecting these ecosystems is vital not only for marine biodiversity but also for the coastal communities reliant on healthy seas.

Professor John Burt, director of New York University Abu Dhabi’s Mubadala Arabian Centre for Climate and Environmental Sciences, has previously stated that if oil reaches the coastline, remediation can be costly, and full recovery may take years. He recalled that during the 1990-91 Gulf War, millions of barrels of oil were released into the northern Arabian Gulf. Submerged habitats like coral reefs and seagrass beds were less severely affected in some areas because oil typically floats. However, coastal areas that oil reached in the northern Gulf suffered significant damage, impacting mangroves and mudflats crucial for feeding birds, with some birds being found covered in oil.

The latest incident underscores the critical importance of rapid containment, judicious selection of clean-up methods, and sustained environmental monitoring to minimize potential harm to the Gulf's marine and coastal ecosystems.